What is necessary to improve the brazilian intermodal terminals? the shippers' point of view from the stated preference approach

This study investigates the features of the services that shippers of bulk agricultural products need from intermodal terminals. Agribusiness usually is positively affected by logistics performance, since it normally involves extensive supply chains made up of a large number of agents. The answer to...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Ricardo Silveira Martins, Débora Silva Lobo, Alexandre Florindo Alves, Renato Luiz Sproesser
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2017
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da UFMG
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufmg.br:1843/47122
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1843/47122
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Intermodal freight transport
Agribusiness logistics
Logistics Strategy
Transportation systems
Infrasstructure
Service levels
Supply
Agroindústria
Logística
Description
Summary:This study investigates the features of the services that shippers of bulk agricultural products need from intermodal terminals. Agribusiness usually is positively affected by logistics performance, since it normally involves extensive supply chains made up of a large number of agents. The answer to this question may help us understand why Brazilian shippers mainly use road transportation to move low value-added products over long distances and may also help us improve intermodal terminal facilities. Applying the Stated Preference technique, shippers ranked constructs in the following order: reliability, time period, customer relations, cost, and flexibility. The results indicate that constructs associated with quality of service are more highly valued. This implies that there are new points of reference for the transport market which favor the use of long-term contracts and closer relationships.